UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Migrant workers are susceptible to violence because they are viewed as easier targets dueto their lack of assets within their new land. Between February 1, 1971 and May 19, 1971 inSutter County, California 25 migrant workers were murdered by a man with schizophrenianamed Juan Vallejo Corona. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is often explained by reducedemotional responses and lack of rationale within decision-making. Schizophrenia is prevalentwithin populations of individuals who have committed violent offenses. However, the reason theterm “schizophrenia” has a concrete definition today is because of the efforts historicalpsychologists such as Eugen Bleuler put in to determining it. “Schizophrenia” as a term hasdeveloped over time and its true meaning today can be understood through observing thedifferent brain systems connected with the illness. Conversely, many years ago the term wassolely understood by the Greek roots Schiz meaning to split and phrene meaning mind.Neuropsychological disturbances in this disorder can be attributed to abnormalities in the frontolimbicsystem, the brain region most responsible for negative emotional reaction to externalstimuli. Schizophrenia has been known to cause violent tendencies in people who are notnormally violent. Juan Corona murdered his victims with a machete and felt no remorse over hisactions. Like most serial killers he targeted a group of individuals who he believed to be vulnerable. These immigrants he murdered had limited resources in America, such as socialconnections and revenue. Since Corona was a labor contractor and the immigrants worked forhim he had a sense of power over them, which added to their vulnerability. This literature reviewfocuses on examining immigrant vulnerability and how Corona’s violent actions were productsof his schizophrenic illness.